A quick note before we start: this is old news. The internet moved on from Steven Bartlett’s wine confession weeks ago—the jokes ran their course, the algorithm found new villains, and the moment passed. But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. So I’m publishing this a little late and enti...

By Heather Lowe, BSW, CPRC, CPC, CFAA-HR, PHR, Award-Winning Sober Coach, and Founder of Ditched the Drink

If you're looking for a sober coach, you're standing in a place I know well.

You've probably tried things. Maybe you've quit and started again more times than you'd like to admit. Maybe you'v...

You quit drinking.

Maybe you're sleeping better. Your anxiety has improved. You're saving money and making healthier choices.

But there's one thing nobody warned you about.

You don't necessarily feel happy.

In fact, you might feel surprisingly flat.

Life feels a little dull. Motivation is hard ...

By Heather Lowe, BSW, CPRC, CPC, CFAA-HR, PHR, SRDC, sober coach, and Founder of Ditched the Drink

It's late. You're alone. You're thinking—again—about whether you should keep drinking. Or whether you can really quit. Or whether you've already tried and failed too many times to try again.

You open...

By Heather Lowe, BSW, CPRC, CPC, CFAA-HR, PHR — Sober Coach and Founder of Ditched the Drink

I've been thinking a lot lately about what AI can do and what it can't.

I use it. I'm not anti-AI. It's good for brainstorming, drafting, and organizing my thoughts when I'm stuck. There's a place for it i...

“Why don’t you promote kava?”

This is a question I get often—especially as kava becomes more popular in sober-curious and alcohol-free communities.

What many people don’t realize is that kava companies actively seek brand ambassadors and offer significant financial incentives to promote their p...

Recently, I was included on a Top 100 Sober Influencer list.

When someone first sent it to me, my reaction was equal parts surprise, gratitude… and a little bit of a head tilt.

Because if you ask me what I do, I won’t say I’m an influencer.

I’m a coach.

I’m a sober coach who works with women who...

At the end of 2022, for no particular reason at all, Palm Springs started calling my name.

I began following desert sunsets and Joshua Tree National Park on Instagram. Somewhere between scrolling and dreaming, I realized what I truly missed.

As a solopreneur and founder of Ditched the Drink (DTD),...

Sobriety Is Just the Beginning

You quit drinking and expected everything to fall into place.

More energy.
More clarity.
More peace.

And sometimes those things arrive.

But often, sobriety comes quietly.

The chaos stops…
and suddenly you’re left with yourself.

Your thoughts.
Your patterns.
Your ...

And everywhere I look—restaurants, bars, menus, social media, conversations—I keep seeing the same message:

“It’s exhausting to pick up the slack for people doing Dry January.”

That servers are tired.
That bartenders are annoyed.
That sober people are making things harder.

And honestly?

That ...

You know the feeling. That intense, mouth-puckering sourness that makes your eyes water just a little bit. For some, it’s a refreshing jolt, like the kick of a lemon. For others, it might be a dangerous little trigger, leading to an unexpected craving for alcohol. Why does something so simple have s...

We laugh about hangovers all the time.
About the foggy memories, the “what did I even say?” moments, the greasy-food cures, and the next-day promises we rarely keep.

But underneath the laughter is something your body wants you to hear:
A hangover isn’t funny. It’s a full-body panic response. Your...

It didn’t start with a rock bottom. It started with a whisper.

A quiet question I couldn’t ignore anymore:
Am I drinking because I want to—or because I don’t know how not to?

That single moment of honesty cracked something open in me. It didn’t look dramatic from the outside, but it changed everyt...

When a craving hits, your first thought might be
“What’s wrong with me?”

Let’s pause that thought right there, because cravings are not cracks in your foundation.
They’re actually invitations to rewire your brain.

Cravings Are Loops, Not Failures

Your brain is a brilliant pattern machine. It reme...

Ahhhh, yes. I’m so glad you’re here. I feel passionately about coaching, and honestly, the time is long overdue for a real conversation.

Let’s talk about something most people don’t realize: coaching is an unregulated industry.

That means anyone can call themselves a coach, with zero training, ...

I’m thrilled to share that I’ve recently completed a comprehensive training in Yoga Nidra, a powerful and deeply restorative guided meditation practice rooted in ancient yogic tradition.

This training was more than just informative; it was transformational. Through in-depth learning and practice, I...

It stings when someone calls me an “alcoholic.”

Not because I’m in denial. Not because I’m ashamed of the work I’ve done to change my relationship with alcohol. But because that word, "alcoholic," is heavy with assumptions, judgment, and stigma. It flattens complex human stories into a single, limi...

If you’re tired of the algorithm chase or feeling like your coaching business is at the mercy of likes and follows, you’re not alone. While social media can be a powerful tool, it’s not the only way to build a profitable, purpose-driven coaching business. In fact, relying solely on platforms like In...

I had a molar pulled this week. Way in the back. And honestly? I wasn’t prepared for how much it would bring up—pain, yes, but mostly shame. It’s wild how long I avoided dealing with it. Ignored it. Minimized it. Maybe I was in my head too much. Maybe I just needed a distraction. I kept thinking if ...

Seven years ago, I made a choice.

I didn’t know what would come next. I didn’t know who I would be without a drink in my hand. All I knew was that I couldn’t keep living the way I had been. It wasn’t working. It was slowly killing me.

Seven years later, I look back at that woman—the one who was ...

Do you know how much money you are wasting by not getting a coach? I get it—you’re not used to spending money on personal development, or maybe you’ve bought programs in the past and never finished them. You’re not alone. Many of my clients come to me feeling the same way. But let me tell you someth...

Are you familiar with Blue Monday? The third Monday of January marks the term "Blue Monday." This day is often referred to as the most depressing day of the year. This year, Blue Monday falls on January 20, 2025. The origin may have started as a marketing term, but there’s no denying that mid-Jan...

I was terrified to quit drinking. Alcohol offered a protective layer of bubble wrap around my nerves. This could be found in any bottle that offered a red blend of sorts at the local CVS on the corner, by the case at Trader Joe’s, or casually thrown into any shopping cart.

I desperately wanted t...